AKIPRESS.COM - Aktobe Rail and Section Works has launched the production of hardened 120-metre, R65 mark rails for high-speed railways.

The company was founded by Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) in cooperation with private investors under State Program of Accelerated Industrial and Innovative Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2010-2014, according to the Kazakh media.

The construction of the plant and process of putting into operation the assembly line were completed in the shortest time possible. KTZ President Askar Mamin noted that the project was completed with the partnership of Alstom, General Electric, Siemens and Talgo, Astana Times report.

ARBZ design capacity is 430,000 tonnes of steel per year. The company plans to produce 230,000 tonnes of rolled steel beams, angles and channels. The production will cover the needs of Kazakhstan and neighbouring countries in rail and structural steel products.

ARBZ also hosted a roundtable on the development of railway engineering in Kazakhstan and prospects for international cooperation. A series of memorandums of cooperation for delivery of finished goods were signed between ARBZ and the railway administrations of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.